A Black Past and Brighter Future
by AshaJayPowell
Summary: Sirius Black had always been smart. Smarter than many would give him credit for. Smart enough to escape from Azkaban prison, and smart enough to change the the past and the future.
1. A New Beginning

Sirius Black had always been smart. Smarter than many would give him credit for. Smart enough to escape from Azkaban prison, and smart enough to change the the past and the future.

Sirius couldn't believe his luck. Not only had he managed to escape from Azkaban, but in the space of one night, he'd managed to clear his name to the two most important people in his life. Remus Lupin and, Harry Potter. He had managed to convince them of his innocence, and that made it all worth it. He hadn't managed, however, to bring justice to the culprit at large. Peter Pettigrew, so when Harry and Hermione turned up at his cell ready to break him out, how could he help himself? He'd devised a plan. A good one at that. He waited till he'd flown away with Buckbeak before he started to work out the details of his plan, but he had a job to do, and he'd be damned if he didn't succeed. This mess had gone on too long, twelve years too long.

He woke up in an all too familiar place. Hogwarts express. He was dressed in his old Gryffindor robes and felt his hair much shorter. It had worked.

"Padfoot, you alright?" He snapped his head up to see the all too familiar voice call to him. It was Peter. Young and fresh. He looked around the compartment to see James and Remus in their robes too.

"You must've nodded off mate, we're not going to be much longer I don't think."

"Looks like Pads needs his beauty sleep." James joked. Peter laughed in response and even Remus sniggered. He'd thought he'd have been able to handle this, but it was all becoming a bit too overwhelming. He excused himself in a hurry from the compartment, in a quest for a toilet among the train. He rushed quickly into the stall and took a good look at himself in the mirror. He traced his hands over what was once a tattoo covered chest, over a trimmed beard along his jawline, along his silky, slightly longer wavy hair and over his younger hands. It had really worked. He took a shaky and long breath to steady himself before exiting the bathroom stall, to find Severus Snape waiting on the other side for him to finish.

"Too busy looking at yourself to flush, Black?" He sneered at him.

"Do yourself a favour and wash that greasy mop on your head while you're in there Snape." He sniggered at his remark. He'd missed this quite a lot. He walked back to the compartment that held his fellow Marauder's with a bit more of a spring in his step.

"You're all going to think I've taken a wrong turn and landed myself in St. Mungo's but, what year are we in?" He asked, unapologetically. The three lads all looked back at him questioningly, unsure of what his question meant.

"What are you talking about Sirius?" Remus asked

"Just humour me."

"Oh well, sixth." Remus responded. Sirius just nodded, confused, as he sat back down in his original seat. He was further back than he'd intended. In all honesty, Sirius hadn't planned on going back as far as to go to Hogwarts at all, wanting to head to a couple weeks before Halloween. He was unsure as to how he'd gone back quite so far.

Just as he sat down, he saw a familiar shade of red breeze past the window and knew straight away who it was. Lily. James was quick to notice too and followed out after her. Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius sat quietly in the carriage for the rest of the ride to Hogwarts, trying to soak in as much as he could from the three boys without drawing too much suspicion in his odd behaviour. All that Sirius Black was sure of, was that he had a very large job to do, and he didn't quite know how he was going to achieve it. Nor did he know how he'd be able to manage staying as close to Peter as he was without ruining something. Only time would tell.


	2. Back to Black

Sirius Black had been back at Hogwarts for two weeks, and those two weeks had been eventful. He found the whole experience surreal, from playing pranks on his fellow students, to attempting to complete his homework, to winding up in detention. He had to admit he found the flirting with his fellow students a bit stranger than he used to, knowing their fates as he went. That was probably the hardest aspect for him to get his head around. He knew how everything was supposed to pan out. As he spoke to Marlene Mckinnon, he knew that she was destined to die fighting Voldemort. As he hexed Mulciber and Avery, he had a sick sense of satisfaction, knowing all the evil they were destined to inflict. It made the whole experience a lot more complicated than he had intended it to be. It wasn't until his third week had he managed to settle more into this new era in his life.

Three of the marauder's were sat in the common room, late on a Tuesday evening. James had just finished his Transfiguration homework, something Sirius had remarked James was particularly good at. How he could manage to finish the homework in an hour when he had in fact spent the entire lesson staring at Lily and hadn't actually taken notes was beyond Sirius' knowledge.

"Oh come off it Padfoot, what do you take me for? I'm a genius of course" Sirius rolled his eyes slightly, laughing as he went. Peter was quick to pitch in.

"I wish I was a genius." He sighed, while staring at his piece of parchment. Peter hadn't managed to write a new sentence for the last half hour. Sirius found it incredibly hard to bite his tongue, finding it just as easy to snap at Peter as it was to snap at Snape.

"We can't all be as brilliant as Prongs and I, can we mate?" Sirius elbowed James in the ribs, to which James retaliated with a head lock. The two were in a rather compromising position as Remus and Lily wandered into the common room.

"What on earth are you two doing?" Lily asked, half-disapprovingly. James snapped straight up, dropping Sirius to the floor with a loud thump.

"Smooth moves, James. Really, very subtle." Sirius remarked as he slowly got up, rubbing his bum and his even more bruised ego before sitting back down at the sofa.

"How was your patrol tonight then, Evans?"

"None of your business Potter. I'm going to bed, good night Remus." She smiled, before heading up towards the girls dormitories.

"Good night Lily." Remus greeted, as he also plonked down on the sofa in front of the fire.

"I just don't understand what it is I'm doing wrong. She must like me! You'd like me wouldn't you?" James said in a fluster.

"Of course I would, James." Remus rolled his eyes. The boys had had this exact conversation at least three times this week already and it wasn't even Wednesday.

"Um James, is there any chance, I could maybe… look at your essay for Transfiguration please?" Peter asked, nervously. James just threw it over without a second glance. Sirius still couldn't quite handle being around the smaller boy. He was finding it increasingly hard to not act cold towards him, especially whenever James would show the boy any form of kindness. He couldn't comprehend the idea of Peter turning on them, couldn't even begin to imagine what could possibly have turned him so far as to betray them like that. Before he could dwell on the fact any further, James spoke up again.

"Do you think she'd say yes if I asked her to Hogsmeade this weekend? First weekend of the year and all."

"I mean, I think she'll say no. But I think you should ask her anyway. It'll be a laugh." Sirius responded without a beat.

"Well, who are you going to ask?" James quipped back, expectantly. Sirius hadn't thought of that. It would be completely out of character for him to not take someone to Hogsmeade, he had a reputation to uphold as Hogwarts' leading bachelor. However, he also found the whole situation confusing. He deliberated a minute before responding.

"In all honesty Prongs, I hadn't really thought of it. Maybe I'll just let the birds swarm over me and take my pick."

"What makes you think anyone's going to be swarming over you, Black?" Sirius turned around sharply to see Marlene Mckinnon standing behind the sofa, leaning casually on the arm rest. Marlene's black hair was cut into a full fringe, a new addition over the summer Sirius had learned, with her bright blue eyes shining through her new bangs. She wore her skirt incredibly short, and slouched very casually as she spoke to the boys.

"The real question Mckinnon, is when isn't there anyone swarming over me? I mean have you seen me? It's incredibly hard to not fall in love with this face." He gestured to his face and stood up to give a twirl and a bow, before sitting down.

"Wow, I must have missed that memo seeing as I couldn't care less who you go to Hogsmeade with, as long as it isn't me." She giggled and flounced upstairs to her dormitory where she'd find Lily.

"If only you could cut the sexual tension with a knife." Remus quipped again before heading up to bed. Peter was close after him, leaving just James and Sirius in the common room.

"Padfoot, can I ask you something?" James asked sweetly, lounging across the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

"It's not 'Shall I ask out Evan's' again is it?" James chuckled slightly.

"Not quite no. I've just noticed, you've been acting rather weirdly lately, and I just wondered if everything was alright?" Sirius' heart twinged in his chest. He would give anything to just tell James the truth there and then. To explain to him the amazing future he had ahead of him, that he was going to change all the bad and give his friend a chance to live the incredible life he deserved to lead. But he couldn't, and he knew it. So instead he shrugged and gave some excuse.

"I think I'm just finding it a little harder to settle back into Hogwarts this year…." He trailed off before getting up to go to bed. "But.. for what it's worth, I think Lily will say yes. Eventually anyway." James snorted at Sirius' words, before the two headed to the dorm together.

* * *

It was Friday before James had managed to approach Lily to ask her about Hogsmeade. To his surprise, she had been late into Potions with the only spare seat being next to him (as per his request, just in case.) She slumped down next to him and hurriedly tried to get all her supplies out of her bag. He watched as she speedily placed all her ingredients onto the desk in front of her, ready for the lesson. She was double checking she'd brought everything with her when she froze. She'd forgotten her tablespoon of Ginger. She could picture exactly where she'd put it, on her dresser between her alarm clock and a picture of her pet cat, Tabitha. She groaned inwardly, knowing she'd get detention for this mistake. As she opened her eyes in horror, there was some fresh ginger sat on her desk. She looked over to find James, whistling contently to himself, trying very hard not to look too pleased with himself, failing miserably.

"What're you doing?" She whispered.

"Shhhh." He responded. She repeated her question, to which she got the same response. She nudged him. Slughorn slowly wandered the classroom, looking over everyone's ingredients.

"Ah, Mr Potter. I see you've forgotten your Ginger. That merits a detention. Tomorrow night. 8 o'clock." He continued on, past the pair congratulating the rest of the class for bringing the correct ingredients.

"Why did you do that?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"You'd forgotten your ginger Lily." He stated simply, as if the answer was obvious. She sighed, frustrated that she now owed Potter in some way or other.

"I want you to work in your pairs, and brew me a Wit-Sharpening Potion. You have till the hours up. 10 points to the house of the pair who finish first." Lily and James nodded. Both were more than obliged to a bit of inter-house competition, and wordlessly agreed they would have to win those 10 points for their house. The pair worked well together, with Lily measuring the ingredients and James masterfully chopping and cutting the ingredients before throwing them into the cauldron. It was quite a sight to watch, James Potter, fully focused and concentrating on the work in front of him, his brow furrowed as he precisely ground Scarab Beetles until red. He caught her as she watched him, to which she hurriedly looked away, blush creeping up on her face.

"Like what you see, Evans?" He smirked, not looking away from his task. She huffed, quickly forgetting the admiration she had for the boy just moments ago.

"Ah, there is the Potter we all know and love, arrogant as always."

"Did you just say you love me Evans?" He laughed, causing more blush to swarm Lily's cheeks. "If you're so in love with me, fancy accompanying me to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

"In your dreams Potter." She rolled her eyes. "Wait, is that why you lent me your ginger? In the hopes I would go out with you?" She asked, getting flustered. He looked somewhat offended.

"I'm hurt that you would think that of me." The two worked in silence for the rest of the lesson.

"10 points to Gryffindor for Lily and James' wonderful concoction of the Wit-Sharpening potion. Well done to you both. See you tomorrow in detention Mr. Potter." James shot Lily a wink before ducking out the classroom. Lily simply rolled her eyes before packing up her stuff. She vowed to herself to never be late to potions again. Marlene, and Alice waited at the door for her, giggling and whispering as she approached them.

"Frank Longbottom asked Alice to Hogsmeade this weekend!" Marlene practically shouted at Lily, with the majority of the remainder of the potions class overhearing and laughing. Alice quickly hit Marlene across the wrist, before the group of girls rushed out towards the Great Hall for lunch. The three of them walked past where the four Marauder's were sat, with Frank Longbottom nowhere to be seen. He was a year older than the girls, making him all the more mysterious to Alice Prewett.

"So how did he ask then?" Lily asked curiously, while buttering her toast.

"Well, he kinda just, bumped into me in the library, and just kind of blurted it out."

"Wait, so it wasn't even romantic? You made it sound as if he'd like proposed or some shit." Marlene laughed, taking a bite out of an apple.

"Well he was all 'You look pretty' and I was all like 'Thanks' and then he was like like 'Hogsmeade is on Saturday... do you.. have you.. want you to... with me?'" Marlene and Lily burst into laughter. Alice told them both to shush as Frank wandered into the great hall, on his own. He smiled at her sheepishly as he walked past, going to sit with her two brothers, Gideon and Fabian.

"What about you two then? Have either of you got dates for Hogsmeade?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"I mean, Potter asked me, but what's new there right?" The girls nodded.

"Why is it we need dates to Hogsmeade anyway. Much rather go to HoneyDukes with you two than to the Three Broomsticks with some boy I've never spoken to before and make awkward small talk." Lily agreed. By the time you get to sixth year, you kind of know who you would and wouldn't go there with, and you've either already gone there, or know you're never going to.

"I heard that Edgar Bones was planning on asking you actually, Lily."

"Isn't he in Hufflepuff?" Marlene said with a grimace.

"You are thinning my patience today, Mckinnon." Alice scolded before bringing her attention back to Lily, patiently waiting.

"I mean, he's nice I guess. I've never really spoken to him."

"Let me save you the trouble. He's incredibly dull, I've been partnered with him for Ancient Runes the last month and he's spoken to me a total of three times." Marlene snorted. As if on cue, Edgar wandered in to the great hall, with Caradoc Dearborn and Reginald Cattermole his two friends by his sides. Lily had never really taken notice of Edgar before, but noted his dirty blonde hair and clean shaven face. Maybe he wouldn't be too bad to go to Hogsmeade with. As she watched him, he looked over to her, catching her eye. He looked away just as quickly, clearly flustered.

Further up the table, James was also watching the sudden exchange of glances from across the hall, and Sirius sat there patiently. If only James knew his time would come.


	3. Turning

Hogsmeade weekend had finally come around and Sirius couldn't tell whether he was content or bored. You'd get a different answer each time you asked him. James was in a mood over the fact that Lily had said yes to going to Hogsmeade with Edgar Bones, who, if you asked James, was as dull as dishwater and didn't deserve someone as incredible as Lily. Marlene had decided to skip Hogsmeade all together as she needed to catch up on homework anyway and Peter had only made it his mission to buy enough sweets to last him a lifetime, hence the Marauder's had spent near enough an hour in HoneyDuke's sweet shop while Peter deliberated over whether to get another pair of Chocolate Frogs or some more Fizzing Whizbees. Sirius rolled his eyes as he searched around the shop for some Pumpkin Pasty's to keep himself entertained. The more time he spent with Peter, the harder it was getting to continue his grudge. He hated Peter Pettigrew. Had never hated anyone more, not even Voldemort. But this boy stood in front of him, wasn't the man he'd hated, not yet anyway, and that made everything so much harder for Sirius to stomach. He found the shop stuffy, and excused himself from the rest of the group for two minutes to get some fresh air. As soon as he exited the shop however, he was greeted with his brother, Regulus, accompanied by Bellatrix and Narcissa Black.

"Did my invitation to the family reunion get lost in the mail?" He laughed as he leant up against the wall.

"Hi Sirius." Regulus muttered, not meeting his eyes. Sirius knew straight away what was going on. Initiation. They were on their way to initiate Regulus into their little gang of Death Eaters.

"No need to make small talk, Regulus. Blood traitors aren't worth your time." Narcissa said smoothly. Out of the two sisters, Narcissa had always been the bearable one. Bellatrix had always been too intense for Sirius' liking.

"Say hi to mum for me." Sirius blew a kiss at the group as they marched past him. James came out not two seconds later and noticed Sirius was visibly angry.

"Whoa, Pads, you alright mate?" He asked hurriedly, following Sirius' gaze. He noticed the trio as they made their way away from him. James looked at Sirius and nodded before concealing themselves under James invisibility cloak and the pair silently followed the trio. They made their way down towards the Shrieking Shack, concealing themselves in the trees. They were met with two seventh year Slytherins, Wilkes and Avery. They all stood silently, before glancing around each other. They exchanged something that both James and Sirius couldn't see, before parting ways. Wilkes and Avery stayed where they were, as did James and Sirius as not to draw attention to themselves.

"Do you think he'll do it?" Wilkes asked.

"Not if he's anything like his brother. Bellatrix will if he fails though."

The two boys started back towards the village, while Sirius and James just stood there, both contemplating what that could've been about. Sirius was starting to realise that even though he'd lived this once before, there were plenty of things he still had yet to learn. Just by changing one little thing he could affect so much, he could have changed things for the better, or for the worse, already in the whole month he'd been there.

James and Sirius slowly made their way back to the village, without the cover of the invisibility cloak, and bumped into Lily and Edgar while on the way. They were holding hands. James tried very hard not to be too upset. Sirius noticed his friends obvious discomfort but again didn't mention anything.

"Hey Evans! What is it that Bones has that I don't aye?" He shouted over jokingly. Lily looked at him and narrowed his eyes.

"Don't make me come over there and hex you Potter!"

"I wouldn't enjoy anything more!" He shouted back. They passed them on their way back and went straight back to the castle, meeting Remus and Peter there in the common room. Marlene was there furiously scribbling something out as they arrived in the common room.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Sirius asked, flopping down beside her. James went quickly up to their dorm, mentioning something about a shower under his breathe.

"I could ask him the same thing. Everything alright?" She sighed, propping her quill down before leading back.

"Saw Evans with Bones in Hogsmeade. Poor sod." She nodded.

"She's just kidding herself anyway. Bones is too boring for her."

"I said the same thing." Sirius smirked. "What's wrong with you anyway?"

"You'd think, staying behind to do homework would mean I'd get the homework done wouldn't you."

"I'm assuming that's not the case?" They were interrupted by Lily entering the common room. Her eyes immediately scanned the room, before landing on Sirius and Marlene.

"There she is, how was your date with good old Bones?" Marlene asked, changing the subject from Sirius.

"It was nice." She said sweetly. Sirius looked at her, lips swollen.

"You snogged him didn't you?" Lily gasped.

"Is it that obvious?" Marlene giggled.

"I mean, apart from your lips, I wouldn't have noticed. Dull kisser too I imagine."

"Well... it was nice I guess. Like, not butterflies in your stomach, but warm, comforting. He really is sweet you know."

"Sweet, doesn't equal interesting though does it."

"Look he's nice, and he kissed me and I kissed him back. That's all there is to it thank you very much." She sighed. She didn't know why she was so agitated by everyone's sudden interest in her love life. It wasn't as if she hadn't kissed boys before. She said good night, wanting an early night and bumped into James on the way up the stairs. He was wet, freshly come out of the shower, with a blue t-shirt clinging to his still damp body. His hair was sticking up in all directions, also still wet.

"Ah sorry Lily, didn't see you there. Have a good date then?" He winked. She looked up at him curiously.

"Are you hoping I'll say it was awful?" She laughed. She didn't know what it was about James that made her want to be mean to him. She couldn't help it.

"Do you want me to hope that it was awful?" He quipped back just as quickly. She didn't know what she was hoping for him to say.

"It was nice, actually. I don't know what everyone's interest in my love life is though."

"Well, isn't it obvious? Everyone's interested, because everyone wishes it was them you were talking about." He shrugged and headed down the stairs back to the common room. She rushed upstairs, head spinning, unsure of why that was. Maybe Edgar had made more of an impression on her than she'd expected.

Down in the common room, James was ranting again, about Lily, which seemed to be all he spoke about these days. Sirius laughed at the majority of James arguments. Edgar was too dull for her, sweet but dull. James was lively. Full of energy. And arrogance. What more could she want? James had worked himself up so much so that he wandered out of the common room that evening. He roamed the castle, with the map in hand and wand in the other, hoping not to run into anyone he'd regret seeing. He'd made his way all the way down to the dungeons and was about to turn around when he got hit with a spell from behind. He turned around quickly, stuffing the map into his pocket with his wand raised. It was Regulus Black, along with Snape and Bellatrix.

"And why do we have noble and brave James Potter wandering out of bed so late?" Bellatrix teased.

"I could ask you the same thing." He quipped back.

"Regulus, this is the perfect time, don't you think?" She toyed back at the younger boy. He raised his wand to James, arm trembling.

"Confringo" He shouted. James ducked out of the way, the curse scorching the wall where he stood. James disarmed him quickly, before cursing Snape with the conjunctivitis curse. Bellatrix it seemed didn't have her wand on her as she hadn't raised it.

"You're a filthy blood traitor James, you should watch out, before you hurt yourself." She giggled again, before skipping away, not waiting for Regulus or Severus to join her. He stalked off back towards the common room and straight to his dormitory. Unsure of what to do, he woke Sirius to let him know what had happened. Sirius was confused. Unsure of how to react.


	4. A Library is a Romantic Place

James Potter considered himself reasonable. He considered himself a man worthy of respect, someone tolerable at least. This didn't seem to be the case however, when it came to Lily Evans. It didn't matter what he did, he would never please her. It wasn't until they were paired together for Transfiguration that he had come into realisation that this was true.

"Mr. Potter, you will be partnered with Miss. Evans, and finally, Mr. Pettigrew, you will be partnered with Black." McGonagall concluded before heading back to the front of the class. "Your project for this term will be Human Transfiguration, where I will be expecting you to put together a presentation regarding the subject matter, complete with demonstrations on your fellow partners. This project will be due in at the end of beginning of December. Each pair will be assigned an animal to base their research on." She quickly went through the class to assign animals.

"I can't believe I haven't got a partner for what could possibly be the largest project yet to be given to me." Lily sighed with her head between her hands. James watched her, confused.

"And what am I exactly?"

"Not my partner." She said bluntly. "You are not going to do ANY work! You know it is true so don't even bother to argue with me."

"Believe it or not, Evans, Transfiguration has always been a speciality of mine. You should be honoured that McGonagall even paired us together. Clearly you have risen to my standard of expertise." He replied casually, flipping through his textbook. She sighed harder. How was she going to put up with being partnered with him till Christmas? She could barely stand being in the same room as him for longer than two minutes, let alone hours upon hours of research. McGonagall finally made her way to the duo, assigning them a rabbit as their chosen animal.

"Cute and fluffy... just like you." He smirked at Lily. She simply rolled her eyes.

"We need to establish some ground rules Potter. Rule 1: No flirting of any sort till this project is over!"

"But that's half the fun!" He whined, imitating a toddler. Lily ignored him.

"Rule 2: PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, actually help me with this. N.E.W.T.s are hard enough as it is, I can't carry this project on my own."

"Scouts honour Evans, anything else?"

"I'm sure I'll think of something." They continued on in silence for the rest of the class. Lily rushed off as soon as the lesson ended with James slumping in his seat. He was becoming tired of his relentless effort. It seemed to him that Lily had already made up her mind about him, and that no matter how much he tried to get on her good side, it was hopeless. He shoved his parchment into his bag before storming out of the classroom, quickly catching up to Lily and storming past her, unsure of anything else he could possibly do to change her mind on him. Sirius watched all this unfold, unsure of what to think. This wasn't the way things were supposed to be going. Sirius could already feel things starting to change, and not in the way he had hoped. He had no actual recollection of Lily ever going to Hogsmede with Edgar Bones, nor Lily and James being paired together for Transfiguration in their sixth year. Sirius also quickly stormed out of the class, not waiting for Peter and headed straight towards Dumbledore's office. Unsure of the password, he waited outside for Dumbledore to pass.

"Ah, Mr Black, what is it that I can do for you?" Dumbledore mused as he made his way past where Sirius had been sat.

"Sir, I was wondering if I could ask you something, in private?" He asked, glancing around. Dumbledore smirked.

"But of course Sirius, right this way." They made their way into Dumbledore's office. It was just as Sirius had remembered it, covered with paintings of previous headmasters, with plenty of other ingenious inventions.

"Sir, I have a rather serious and private question to ask you, in regards to time travel." Dumbledore nodded knowingly. "Well, how easy is it for the future to change, based on time travel?"

"That is a rather broad question Sirius, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to go into more detail. What does this concern?"

"Well, say for example, if someone were to use a time turner, how easy would it be for things to start changing? Just little things, that hadn't happened previously?" Dumbledore reached into his robes and presented Sirius with the same burned Time turner he had used.

"I'm assuming this might have something to do with this?"

"But sir- how did you-"

"House elves are very loyal, Sirius. The answer to your question is, simply by travelling back in time, things are bound to change. Your presence, will be different to that of your original younger self. Your actions by simply responding to someone differently can be the difference between two people falling in love and two people hating each other. Be careful though, as the longer you are out of time, the more likely you are to loose your place." Sirius wasn't quite sure exactly what Dumbledore had meant, but considered it wise to not question him.

"Thank you for your help, sir."

"It was my pleasure, Mr Black. Would you like a sherbet lemon?"

"No thank you Sir."

"Then I suggest you be on your way, wouldn't want you to miss dinner." Little did he know that Sirius wasn't planning on going to dinner, but rather to revise his plan for being in the past. He hadn't realised just how much could change, and was now more concerned with Lily and James even getting together in the first place.

Meanwhile, at dinner, Lily was sat with Marlene and Alice, while they obsessed heavily over Alice and Frank's newfound relationship.

"He asked me out in the library!"

"A common theme, apparently." Marlene muttered sarcastically. Alice hit her playfully in the shoulder.

"Quit being so negative! Can't you just be happy for me!" She squealed.

"Of course I'm happy for you Al, I just love the boys originality. He asks you to Hogsmede in the library, he asks you to be his girlfriend in the library, whats next? You're not going to lose your virginity in the library as well are you?" Alice rolled her eyes.

"I for one, think it's lovely!" Lily smiled.

"You, for one, think Edgar Bones is lovely. Lily the boy could not get more boring if he tried."

"Don't be sore just because we both have male friends and you do not." Lily snapped.

"I have plenty of male friends Lily, you just don't consider them valid because I've slept with them once and never seen them again." The three girls burst into laughter.

"I almost don't want to spoil the party." Bellatrix Black sneered as she walked past, pushing Lily's head playfully as she went. Snape was close behind her.

"Lily, can I speak to you for a moment please?" He said in a hushed tone. Lily rolled her eyes but obliged. The pair walked out of the great hall, in silence and onto the courtyard. The breeze was cool and Lily wrapped herself tighter in her robes.

"What do you want Severus?" She asked, icily.

"I want us to be friends again Lily. I miss you, more than you know." Lily turned to walk away. "Lily, wait, please!" He called after her. She turned around sharply.

"So you do know my name then? And here I thought I was only known as a MUDBLOOD to you Severus!" She shouted back.

"Don't say that Lily please, you're so much more to that than me."

"More than that?! The fact that I even AM that is enough Severus. Why would a filthy mudblood like me want to even be associated with you? Let alone friends?!"

"But we were friends Lily."

"Who were we kidding? How could we be friends, when you and your _other_ friends walk around hexing first year muggleborn students? How could we possibly be friends when you just can't wait to graduate and run off to your all-mighty and powerful leader - Lord Voldemort. Someone, who would have me killed at first glance? What honestly makes you think that I would want to be friends with someone who worships the magic equivalent of Hitler? I don't want to be friends with you Severus! I don't want to see you around school, I do not want to talk to you, and I most certainly don't want to be your friend." Lily's words stung, hurting Severus beyond repair. He quickly filled with rage.

"Well maybe we are better off not being friends then, _Evans._ Wouldn't want the dark lord getting the wrong idea about me would we? Filthy mudblood." He muttered, knowing it would sting. Just as he uttered the words, James and Remus joined them in the courtyard. Snape caught their eye and raised his wand instinctively.

"Now, now Severus, be smart will you. Are you really going to raise your wand to two prefects?" Remus accused with a scolding tone. Snape's eyes narrowed.

"Come off it Remus, since when has good old Snivelus been smart?" James laughed. That was all it took.

"Potter that's enough! Just leave him alone."

"Expulso!" Snape shouted, sending the curse towards James. James jumped out the way, pushing Lily with him. The curse hit Remus, sending him across the courtyard, into the wall.

"Flipendo!" James shouted back, knocking Snape off his feet.

"Expeliarmus." Lily shouted, disarming Snape and James in one swoop.

"Can't you both just quit it, for one second PLEASE!" She shouted before storming over to see if Remus was alright. She quickly helped him up, still quite dazed, and accompanied him back to the common room. She didn't look behind her as they walked up the stairs, and gently helped him onto the sofa in front of the fireplace. Lily quickly tidied the books all over the table in front of them, before joining Remus to sit on the sofa. "How're you feeling?" He chuckled under his breath.

"Just a bit worse for wear. That Snape sure can pack a punch."

"You're telling me. I don't understand why the two of them can't just leave each other alone."

"I mean, to James' credit, he can't stand anyone who believes in all that pureblood bollocks."

"Doesn't mean he has to act like an arrogant dickhead though does it?" Remus burst into laughter.

"I suppose not, you're ri-" Before Remus could finish his sentence James came rushing into the common room, blood dripping from his nose.

"What the hell was that Evans?!" He shouted. The common room suddenly had gone very silent, filled with second years who had been playing exploding snap. Lily looked around at the room, with each pair of eyes looking away as soon as they met hers. She was embarrassed beyond belief.

"What the hell was _what_ Potter?!" She shouted back, getting up from the sofa. Remus visibly shuddered and slouched further into the sofa, hoping the cushions would swallow him.

"Not _only_ did you just defend Snape, but you disarmed me and left me there!"

"I didn't realise _Potter_ , that you needed me to fight your battles for you! Not that you should even be having any battles! You're sixteen years old. Don't you think battling with Slytherin's is beneath you now?"

" _I_ didn't realise, _Evans,_ that you considered standing up to prejudice pureblood fanatics was beneath _you_." James shouted back.

"It is when they're causing no harm, Potter!"

"But he was doing harm, Evans!"

"Calling me a couple little names isn't doing any harm. Stop being so sensitive."

"Being called a- the 'M' word isn't just a harmless name. It's a prejudice slur that... that 'You Know Who' uses."

"And did you think you being sarcastic to Severus was going to suddenly wash away his prejudice?"

"Excuse me Evans for sticking up for you, maybe if you had more balls and stuck up for yourself I wouldn't have to!"

"I do have balls thank you for very much Potter, I just don't feel the need to parade them for everyone to see!"

"Oh you _love_ seeing my balls, Evans." James smirked, smoothly and motioned towards her. She pushed him backwards.

"Don't even think about it Potter. Because of you, Remus has what could only be a concussion!"

"Ugh Evans, why don't you stop pretending to be little miss perfect for once and live a little!"

"I'll live a little when the world isn't full of arrogant, self centred toe-rags such as you!" And with that she stormed off upstairs.


	5. A Party to Remember

Sirius found his new life harder and harder each day. Despite the life he'd previously lived, he felt things the way a teenage boy would feel them. He had all the memories of a fully grown man shoved into his younger self's body. He found himself dreaming about his cell in Azkaban, that night at Godric's hollow, that night in the Shrieking Shack with Harry. He found his nights were sleepless the majority of the time. What he had once worked through, was now haunting him every time he closed his eyes, and he didn't know how to combat it. On the other hand, Sirius also found himself succumbing to his teenage needs. He noticed girls more heavily than he ever had before. His pants would tighten every time Marlene would flounce around the common room in her tiny mini skirts, or when Lily's top fell dangerously low to reveal her chest. He found himself lusting over girls he had never even noticed before, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, hell even Slytherin girls were turning him on and it was becoming harder and harder to resist his urges. He found himself wishing that those were his biggest problems, but he had much more pressing concerns. He had the future of the wizarding world to worry about. Every day became a battle, trying to get Lily and James to become at least friendlier towards each other. He also found himself unconsciously trying to separate them from Peter, which he knew was wrong. Peter hadn't turned yet, and it was wrong of him to consider Peter, as young and innocent as he currently was, accountable for actions that hadn't happened yet. Still, he was becoming increasingly cold towards the smaller boy, while continuously trying to find excuses to get Lily and James to be in the same room for longer than two minutes without arguing.

Due to all these problems going on inside Sirius' head. He was thoroughly surprised when he walked through the portrait hole to the common room on 3rd of November, 1975.

"SURPRISE!" It seemed that the whole of Gryffindor as well as a couple from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as well had gathered into their small common room to celebrate Sirius' birthday. He'd completely forgotten about his birthday, having not celebrated one for thirteen years. He laughed, before being bombarded by his fellow Marauders, who were all wearing childish party hats on their heads before shoving one on him as well.

"You didn't actually think we wouldn't throw you a party for your seventeenth birthday did you Padfoot?!" James laughed.

"You're officially legal!" Remus shouted.

"You can do whatever you want!" Peter joined.

"As if he didn't do that anyway." James added again. Sirius finally let himself go.

"Where's the fire whiskey then, boys? It's not a party without a bit of alcohol."

"That's the spirit." The boys all hurried over to the table where the fire whiskey resided.

On the other side of the common room sat Lily with her friends, Marlene and Alice, who was sat casually on Frank Longbottom's lap.

"Where is he then?" Marlene asked impatiently. Lily was supposed to be meeting Edgar at this party, having asked Remus if he could be invited. Remus happily had obliged, however James had had something to say about it. It seemed, since the Slytherin incident a couple weeks ago, the two had been getting on less than usual, which was hard to achieve. James had gone out of his way ever since, to make Lily's life even more miserable than it already was, whether that be going out of his way to do as little work as possible with their transfiguration project, or absolutely disagreeing to inviting Edgar Bones to Sirius' birthday party. Luckily, Remus had won out against James on that particular situation and had granted Lily her wish of having Edgar join them at the party.

"I don't know, he said he'd be here." Lily sighed. She'd dressed up all pretty, curling her hair into small ringlets that cascaded down her back and she had even put on some make up in the hopes to illuminate her emerald green eyes.

"Maybe James said something to him to scare him off." Alice shrugged casually.

"Gee Alice, could you care any less?" Lily slumped back into chair.

"Oh come off it Lily, don't be jealous just because Frank actually decided to turn up." Marlene giggled. Lily shot her a deathly glare. "And on that note, I'm going to go find myself the perfect candidate to spend Sirius' birthday with." She smirked wickedly before heading off into the crowd. Lily continued to search the crowd hoping to see Edgar, trying to tune out the noise of Alice and Frank's giggling. She knew she was being hypocritical. If Edgar had been there with her, the pair would probably be acting in a similar fashion to Frank and Alice. However, she could not bring herself to rationalise her thoughts and, instead, in a huff, stormed over to the table filled with alcohol. Sirius, James and Remus were entertaining the table, taking it in turns to do keg stands. She rolled her eyes heavily before pouring herself a shot and quickly taking it. The alcohol burned down her throat. She took another, and another, and then another. Sirius noticed the red-heads unusual behaviour and laughed.

"Rough night?" He smirked. She looked up at him.

"Not at all, it's your birthday after all!"

"Being the birthday boy doesn't make me an idiot. What's with the excessive drinking?"

"Let's just say I'm not accustomed to being stood up."

"The night is still young! How about a keg stand contest to get your mind off of things? Gets you just as drunk as those lethal shots you're taking!" She smiled and nodded. Sirius quickly led her over to the keg stand.

"What is Evans doing here?" James sneered.

"She's going to beat your ass in the contest is what." Sirius defended.

"As if, a keg stand contest is too much fun for the wonderfully boring life of Evans."

"Oh try me Potter, afraid I'll beat you?" James chuckled, taken aback by the sudden fire coming from the red-head.

"The record so far tonight, held by James, is thirty seconds. Think you can beat it?" Remus asked cheekily. Lily smirked.

"Easy. Give me a lift." She smiled. Sirius and Remus took a leg each and lifted her onto the keg stand. The feeling of the fire whiskey forcing it's way down Lily's throat was exhilarating. Combined with the rush of blood to her head and Lily knew that this was a night she would regret in the morning, but she vowed to herself to not think of that till tomorrow. She couldn't hear the counting, her ears were ringing and she was starting to feel a bit dizzy. She motioned her legs for the boys to let her down and they obliged. Once she was down, she started to hear cheering.

"Forty two seconds! We have a new champion!" She cheered with everyone, and out of the corner of her eye she watched as even James clapped approvingly. She suddenly felt very dizzy, all the alcohol starting to rush to her head and started to lose her balance before she felt some arms around her waist. She turned around to see Edgar.

"Gosh, I'm ten minutes late to the party and this is how you react? I should be late more often." He planted a soft kiss on her cheek. She smirked before nuzzling into his neck, unaware of their lack of privacy.

"Do you want to head outside onto the balcony?" She smirked. Lily was itching to kiss someone. In all honesty, she didn't really care too much who it was, there was no burning desire to kiss Edgar in particular. She just wanted to kiss someone. They made their way onto the balcony and Lily was quick to push Edgar into the wall, kissing him straight away. He didn't, however, return what she was after. She was looking for something fiery, where as he barely kissed her back. She continued to persist but he eventually shoved her off.

"Lily, what are you doing?" She stared back at him.

"What does it look like? We've been dating for a month now and we've barely kissed!" She complained.

"But... but you're... you're Lily Evans? You don't do kissing!" He half-shouted. She looked back at him.

"Wait, what?"

"You don't kiss people Lily. That's not you." He stated simply.

"Well I'm kissing you now, what is your problem?" He went all quiet. "Well spit it out, Edgar." He looked up at her, ashamed.

"Lily... I'm gay." Her stomach dropped. What? Boringly sweet Edgar, was gay? Edgar who had been perfectly nice and respectable the whole month they'd been seeing each other...

"You're... you're what?" She could feel her cheeks flooding with heat and her eyes fill with tears.

"I didn't want anyone to find out, and I figured if I went out with someone, the rumours would die down. And.. and.. well, you're known to be so frigid, I figured I wouldn't have to... _do_ anything with you, you know?" She just stood there silently. What had been a wonderful feeling just a few short seconds ago had turned into a feeling of nausea. She could feel herself spinning, and put her hand out against the wall to steady herself. "Lily, are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Leave me alone." She said quietly, afraid of what she might do if she spoke any louder.

"Lily, please..."

"Now. Go." She said with a bit more volume. He just nodded and rushed back in to the party. She slumped to the floor, feeling the breath escape from her lungs, as if she'd been punched in the chest. Was that all she was known as? The frigid of the school? No of course not, she was forgetting Mudblood, or know-it-all. She had had enough. She had over a year left of being at Hogwarts, a place that she considered her safe place from the horrors that awaited her back home within the form of her sister, and she couldn't allow her safe place become a place of misery. If people thought she was frigid, well, she'd show them differently. She wiped under hey eyes, fluffed her hair before marching back into the party. She was pleased to see that Edgar was nowhere to be found. She quickly marched back over to the table filled with alcohol, took two big swigs of a bottle with an unknown substance inside it. She finished off the bottle quickly before yelling "WHO WANTS TO PLAY SPIN THE BOTTLE?!" She was met with a large cheer before a number of students made a wide enough circle for all those who wanted to play. Unexpectedly, Remus, Alice and Frank had all opted out and were sat with two others she didn't recognise playing a cards game. She scanned the circle for faces she recognised. James, Sirius, Marlene, Gideon and Fabian Prewitt, Dorcas Meadows, Mary McDonald, Emmaline Vance, Caradoc Dearborn and Dirk Cresswell along with others she didn't recognise. She felt Sirius' eyes on her curiously but ignored.

"Alright Lily, I don't know what's gotten into you, but I like it! Marlene squealed, before sitting comfortably next to her. "I'll start shall I?" She asked casually, before spinning the bottle. It landed on an unknown Ravenclaw girl. Marlene lent over on her knees, her bum flying up in the air for all to see. The two girls kissed passionately for what felt like an hour before receding back to their places. Emmaline Vance went next, landing on Sirius. The kiss they shared was rather tame, especially for Sirius. Lily looked at him curiously, unsure of his unusual behaviour. Lily was becoming impatient. As they made their way around the circle, Lily whispered furiously to Marlene.

"What's the sluttiest way you can kiss someone in this game?" Marlene almost spat out her drink in response. "Just answer the question." Lily snapped.

"Alright... but don't think I wont be asking questions later. Make sure you use tongue, use your hands as much as possible, maybe bite on his or her lip? Oh and of course..." She motioned to Lily's shirt, and started undoing a couple buttons. Lily gasped.

"Marlene, I need to keep my shirt on! I don't want to go that far!"

"Oh loosen up, I'm just giving you a bit of much needed cleavage."

"I'm going to go crazy on whoever has the pleasure to be my first spin the bot-" She was interupted by cheering and calling of her name. She turned to see the bottle was pointing at her. She looked around, ready for who she was about to kiss. That was, until she realised who it was she had to kiss.

"Shit." She muttered. It was James Potter.


	6. A Secret Affair

Hi guys, I realise I haven't actually spoken to you much while updating yet and thought I'd let you know that this chapter would be the start to the M rated content you'll see in this story! please review to let me know what you want more and less of!

* * *

Lily bit her lip, unsure of how to approach this. She felt Marlene's eyes on her and felt that she couldn't back out now. She could feel the alcohol on her tongue causing her head to spin, and she could feel the heat of everything Edgar had said to her that night. She tossed reason out the window and grabbed James by his t-shirt before crashing her lips to his. He hesitated slightly, the shock of the situation causing him to freeze before responding to her fire. Their lips moved quickly, her hands his chest, before moving up to his hair. She tugged down on it quite roughly as she let her tongue split into contact with his. She let out a little groan as she felt his hands strongly on her waist, drawing her into him. She bit down on his lip, hard and heard a moan in response. They came apart all too quickly in Lily's opinion, feeling quite lightheaded. James also looked dazed as they sat back in their respective spaces within the circle.

"That was hot, Lily." Marlene whispered quietly. "What has gotten into you?" She mused.

"I'm fed up of being the know-it-all mudblood who wont put out." Lily replied bitterly before getting up from the circle to have another drink. Her head was spinning, unsure of how to feel. She had enjoyed the kiss, the rush she had felt. She could see why Marlene did that every night. She felt what she had needed to feel, albeit with Potter instead of Edgar. She was confused about the fact that it was Potter she had kissed. Someone she had never imagined herself kissing. She hated the boy. She didn't hate his lips though, that she was sure of. As she poured herself another drink, she felt the familiar voice in her ear.

"You should probably calm down on the liquor Evans. You're getting far too sloshed to be considered presentable." He teased in a hushed tone. She turned around with a start, knocking her cup on the floor, the liquid pouring out and onto the carpet. She panicked even further and got out her wand quickly to clean the damage. "Whoa there Evans, drunk magic is never a good idea. We'll sort it in the morning." He chuckled, his hand lowering her wand. She looked up at him, unsure of his motives.

"Who says I want to be presentable..." she slurred.

"What?"

"Presentable. Maybe I don't want to be presentable." He laughed.

"You always want to be presentable." She had started to pour herself another drink but James had stopped her. "How about some fresh air?" He guided her towards the balcony. The same exact balcony that had upset her just a couple hours ago. The air felt cool on Lily's skin, and helped clear her head. James set her down on a bench and then rushed back inside to fetch her a glass of water and some chocolate (a remedy Remus had concocted funnily enough.)

"Why are you being nice to me?" She mumbled as she bit into a piece.

"I guess I can't be mean to you all the time or it wont have the same impact." She grumbled at his response.

"Wouldn't think a know-it-all mudblood would be worth your time." He frowned at her.

"What happened tonight? You were fine earlier.. did that Bones boy call you a mudblood?" He said, visibly getting angry.

" ... he didn't... he didn't call me.. th.. _that."_ she said.

"What happened Evans?" She explained the events from earlier on that night.

"I just don't understand why everyone feels the need to think so negatively of me. It's not as if I do anything to attract any attention to myself."

"That's probably mine and Sni- Snape's doing I suppose. Being caught in the midst of a love triangle is bound to attract some attention." Her eyes snapped up. A love triangle? She hadn't realised she'd been caught in one of those.

"James.. what is it about me that makes you hate me so much?" She asked dully. He laughed.

"I don't hate you Ev- wait, did you just call me... Nevermind. No, I don't hate you. You get under my skin a lot easier than others do that's all."

"I don't know if this is the liquor talking or what, but I don't hate you either. You're a dickhead, but I don't hate you." He smirked.

"Eh, good enough I suppose."

"I've really made a fool of myself tonight haven't I." She said ashamedly, her vision starting to come back to it's normal 20/20 vision. She could feel her head starting to clear.

"I mean, I wont lie but that kiss may have attracted more attention than you've ever had before."

"There goes your big head again..." She laughed.

"Not because of me, Evans. Because of you. Who knew you could kiss like that?" She blushed, unsure as why it would matter what James thought of her kissing skills.

"I'm going to head up to bed, thank you for checking on me James. Good night." She smiled before heading up to her dormitory. James sat outside in the cold winter air, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Not only had Lily Evans finally kissed him that night, but she'd even had an actual conversation with him that hadn't ended in a screaming match. She had opened up to him and shown him her vulnerability, something he didn't think she'd even had. Things were looking up for James Potter.

* * *

Sirius felt beyond guilty. Like a certain red-head, he too had let the fire whiskey get to him that night. One minute you find yourself innocently playing a game of spin the bottle, and the next you find yourself in the broom closet on the fifth floor with Marlene McKinnon.

"If you tell anyone about this, I swear to god Black I will end you." She said in between breaths as she pushed him against the wall and undid the buttons of his shirt. He groaned.

"I could say the same thing to you McKinnon. The pair kissed in a hurry, hot headed and fast paced. Sirius tore at Marlene's clothes, her bra coming undone with one attempt and falling to the ground. He let himself take in the sight of her before kissing her neck. Marlene tugged at the waist band of Sirius' jeans, pulling them down as she too got to her knees. He sprung free as she pulled down his boxer.

"Are you sure?" He asked, mumbled. She looked up at him.

"Quit being a girl Black." She laughed, before taking him in her mouth. He threw his head back as a moan escaped his mouth unwillingly. Marlene worked fast, going down on him hard right from the start. He panted and panted as she got him extremely close to where he wanted to be all too quickly. He held her hair back and warned her about what was going to happen, but she kept going, seemingly pleased at her work. He came undone in her mouth all too quickly and she got up, wiping her mouth.

"You don't strike me as the type to finish as quickly." She laughed as she got dressed. He rolled his eyes.

"It's been a tough couple weeks McKinnon."

"Tough doesn't begin to cover it. Maybe I'll see you here again soon. You owe me." She winked before leaving him alone in the darkness.

* * *

The next morning went the same way for most. They all woke up, regretting just how much alcohol they had all consumed the previous night. Lily woke up late for her, and made her way down to the common room, not bothering to change out of her pyjamas. She was greeted by James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Marlene, Alice, Frank and Mary McDonald, all sitting around the fire.

"Sleeping beauty finally arises then." Marlene mused, patting the cushion next to her for Lily to sit down. She eyed everyone suspiciously, finding it hard to look in the direction of James.

"I can't be the only one who's feeling inherently shitty today." Lily mumbled, suddenly conscious of how short her shorts were. She found comfort in the fact that everyone else also seemed to still be in their pyjamas as well.

"Nothing better than a Gryffindor only morning." Remus said, sipping some tea.

"Story time at least, how was everyone's night? Let's go round the circle!" Sirius smirked, motioning for Peter to start. Peter sighed.

"Uneventful. Drank a little, went to bed earlier than I'd anticipated." He laughed. Mary was next.

"I had a nice night." She smiled shyly. Marlene laughed.

"Mary and Remus hit it off quite well it would seem." She announced to everyone which caused both Mary and Remus to blush.

"Swiftly moving on." Remus said quietly.

" _My_ night was great, had a lovely trip to the broom closet on the fifth floor with a Hufflepuff who's name I forget. How about you James?" Marlene smirked. James' eyes flitted quickly to Lily before going back to the circle.

"Well, we all saw the eventful game of spin the bottle, other than that... I mean, Emmeline Vance spent the whole night asking after me, maybe next time I'll just have to take her up on the offer." James laughed and got a pat on the back from Peter.

"How about you Lily, how was your night?" Alice asked politely. Lily sighed.

"Just terrific. Broke up with Edgar, kissed Potter. What else could you call it other than a successful party." She grumbled, feeling sick. James sat quietly, unsure of what to say.

* * *

The rest of that Saturday was uneventful, the group of Gryffindor's stayed in front of the fire for the majority of the day, play card games and trading stories. They carried on well into the evening, which is when things started to go wrong. Lily found herself agitated, and who else could she take it out on other than James. James had started to tell a story about sometime throughout their fifth year, forgetting that the object of the story was that of Severus Snape.

"Why do you have to be so horrible about him all the time?" She snapped.

"Oh uh, I don't know, maybe because he's a vicious git?" James snapped back.

"You know, I thought that after the way you behaved last night that you had changed. That you'd finally gained a level of maturity, but you're still the childish asshole that you always have been." She stormed out of the common room, through the portrait hole and stopped just outside hoping to clear her head but James was quick after her.

"Why can't you just leave me alone!" She shouted once he'd joined her.

"Why do you have to have an issue with absolutely everything I do and say? It doesn't seem to matter what it is! I could kill voldemort himself stone dead and you'd still have a go at me for not having enough compassion. I can't win with you Lily! You're infuriating to be around."

"Well why don't you solve that then and not be around me?" She shouted back in anger.

"That's pretty fucking hard to do Lily! You can't even begin to understand how difficult that is for me. How difficult you are for me to even think about! You've spent years and years convincing me that I am dirt. Scum. Beneath you. But I am not! You need to stop thinking that you're better than me just because I know how to have fun! We're in the middle of a war Lily. If we don't have fun now while we're still in school, when are we supposed to?!" He hit the wall next to the fat lady in anger.

"Has it ever occurred to you that life isn't about having fun?! Not anymore! It's scary out there James! I'm terrified of what's going on out there, but what better time to start practising for the real world than now? Your big mouth is going to get you killed!" He laughed.

"That's rich. Like that's what your issue is. You hate the fact that I am right about Snivelus! You hate that you wasted so much of your precious time defending that piece of shit! Arguing with people like me for years, trying to prove to everyone that he was a better person than everyone painted him out to be. And you were wrong! You can't stand the fact that you spent five years of your life believing in someone who didn't deserve your time!" He stood close to her, his face meters away from hers.

"You know what? I am mad. I am furious that he proved me wrong, that he wasn't the man I expected him to be. But I'm still praying that you follow his lead. That you prove me wrong and show me that I must be just an awful judge of character and that you are someone who is worth my time! That I could be wrong about you if I was wrong about him!" She stared up at him.

"Do you not understand how difficult that is when you are actively looking for things to shout at me for? I'm not perfect Lily! You're expecting this perfect version of myself, only then will I prove you wrong! I am never going to be perfect enough for you."

"You were perfect enough for me last night." She whispered. He froze. He suddenly realised how close to her face he was. She looked up at him and could see that he'd suddenly felt the change in mood. She regretted saying it. She didn't want him to know just how much he had helped her last night. They stood there for what seemed like an eternity, both frozen and unsure of what to do. They only broke apart when the portrait hole opened and some second years made their way out, down to dinner it seemed. They both visibly sighed, the tension lifting from their shoulders.

"Look, whatever is going on with- with us, it needs to stop. I don't have time for this." Lily muttered. This infuriated James.

"Sorry for being an inconvenience to you." He spat back before storming off down the corridors.

"James where are you going? You're in your pyjamas." She called after him but he didn't reply, nor did he even acknowledge that he had heard her. She sighed. Her head was muddled beyond repair and she slowly headed back into Gryffindor tower.

"Oh hey Lily! I was just wondering, have you seen James?" A certain Emmeline Vance asked. Lily had never studied Emmeline's face before. Noticing her big brown eyes and cute short brown hair. Emmeline looked like a doll, tiny in stature with huge eyes and huge lips. She suddenly bugged Lily and she couldn't figure out why.

"Oh um, well I did but I don't know where he went." She sighed. Emmeline nodded.

"Aw okay, thank you anyway Lily. If you see him, could you tell him I'm looking for him?" She asked sweetly, her voice chimed with a childlike quality.

"Uh yeah, of course." Lily nodded before heading up to her dormitory to get changed. She quickly threw on some jeans and a baggy t shirt and a hoodie. She gathered up all her Transfiguration work and headed straight to the library, hoping to finish off this project her and James were supposed to be doing together. She figured the quicker she finished it by herself, the less time she would have to spend with him, and the more confusion she could avoid.

* * *

Peter was terrified when Bellatrix Black and Evan Rosier cornered him. Peter had taken a quick stroll to the kitchens, hoping to get himself a form of pastry when he was ambushed by the two Slytherins and escorted down to the dungeons.

"P-p-please, just let me go." Peter cried, causing Bellatrix to laugh.

"You call yourself a Gryffindor. Where's your bravery at, aye Peter?"

"Probably stuck up Potter's arse. That's where his heads at most of the time anyway." Rosier responded, in a more serious tone than Bellatrix.

"What do you want from me?" He pleaded.

"I want the password to Gryffindor tower." He shuddered.

"Why do you want that?" He asked with horror.

"This is wasting time Bella, just get on with it." She smirked.

"Imperio."

* * *

The next few days for the Gryffindors went by without incident. The rest of the weekend was quiet, with James and Lily avoiding each other at every turn. Similarly, Sirius had also found himself avoiding Marlene, his feelings conflicted about what had happened between them. On the other hand, Remus and Mary had become inseparable, as were Alice and Frank, both of whom seemed to have entered the honeymoon stage of their relationship. Emmeline had also started to really take a liking to James, consistently asking him for help on her Transfiguration homework. She had been paired with Dirk Cresswell, who was lovely enough but really didn't have a passion or a talent for Transfiguration. He, like Frank Longbottom, much preferred Herbology, who both were naturally gifted at. Lily found the whole situation ironic, considering James hadn't helped Lily with their project at all, that he was proving himself very useful when it came to helping Emmeline with her project.

The whole week in general felt almost like a punishment for the party, as every class handed out some form of homework, whether it be an essay, project or presentation due to be completed ready for the following week. James found this increasingly unfair as the following weekend was Gryffindors first match against Slytherin of the year, and he didn't see how it was fair for the Gryffindor team to be subject to so much studying as well as all the extra training they had scheduled in that week but the professors surprisingly didn't seem to care.

The match went without a hitch though, despite a couple of fouls from the Slytherin team. Emma Vanity, the Slytherin quidditch captain herself had managed to break Fabian Prewett's arm with a bludger to his broom, causing him to fall. Similarly, Louise Spindall was targeted from the beginning by Bartimus Crouch Jr and was quickly also knocked off her broom shortly after the match started. Gryffindor's seeker, Davey Gudgeon caught the snitch an hour in, before the Slytherin Lucinda Talkalot had even spotted it.

Even though Lily had vowed to spend at least the rest of the school term avoiding James Potter, her and her friends had gone down to the Gryffindor changing rooms to congratulate him, along with the rest of the Gryffindor team. Dorcas Meadows was the first that Lily had seen, and she'd given her a big hug. Dorcas' dark hair was frizzy, full of sweat and some blood from a gash on her forehead and Lily had never seen her so happy. She quickly ran past Lily to celebrate some more with the remaining Gryffindors. Remus was the first one to spot James who had been approached by Emmeline. Lily's eyes widened as she saw them. Emmeline had her hands around James neck, and his hands were around her waist. And they were kissing. Sirius was the first to clear his throat and the two broke away quickly, looking at the group in shock. Emmeline blushed furiously. Sirius gave James a hug.

"So, who's up for celebrating?!" The duo shouted before the whole of Gryffindor rushed up to the common room. What they found when they got there was unpleasant. The boys were the first to enter, to which they had frozen, unsure of what to do. Remus was first to act.

"Everyone out, go down to the great hall. Gideon could you get McGonigall or Dumbledore right away please. Fabian, could you escort the rest of Gryffindor down to the great hall and make sure they all stay there." He shouted back, not allowing anyone else to enter the portrait hole. Lily rushed forward, ignoring peoples orders to follow everyone else down to the great hall. She parted with her friends.

"I am a Gryffindor prefect, I should be there." She muttered as she walked past them. Sirius was there blocking her entrance.

"You don't wanna go in there." She looked at him, furious.

"Black I have more right to be in there than you do, as Gryffindor prefect, so move aside." She shoved him and stumbled through the portrait hole. The place had been trashed. What was once a warm and cosy common room was now covered in bits of torn up parchment. She picked one up from the floor, and read what appeared to be written in blood - 'Voldermort is coming, hide those unworthy' she then scanned the room to see the words 'Mudbloods' and 'Blood traitors' written in big letters all over the walls. Tear filled her eyes.

"Who could have done this?" She asked suddenly, turning to face Remus and Peter, who were inspecting the floor.

"It couldn't have been a Gryffindor, we were all down at the game." Peter muttered, as confused as anyone else.

"Someone must have given out the password." James suddenly snapped, running up the stairs to his dormitory. Lily and Sirius quickly followed him. His room had been trashed as well, almost as if whoever had done this was looking for something. James quickly rummaged through his locked draw, sighing in relief when he found that the map, invisibility cloak and his half of the mirror him and Sirius had invented.

"What- what is it?" Lily asked.

"Just making sure whoever it was, didn't take anything important." Lily nodded before running to her room to check the same. Her bed was covered in a sticky red substance, with the words 'Mudblood' hovering over her bed frame, enchanted. She sighed and headed back down the stairs.

"Just the same up there as it is down here, whoever it was did a good job." Lily stated as she re-entered the common room. Dumbledore was quick to arrive at the scene, questioned the remaining people in the common room before also sending them down to the Great hall with everyone else. They sat in the hall for what felt like hours before Dumbledore resurfaced.

"It seems that, someone who's identity is unknown, staged an attack on the muggleborn within Gryffindor tower. The situation has been contained and your common room restored. You may safely return to your dormitories. If anyone has any information about what might have gone on tonight, do not hesitate to come forward. Lily, Remus, may I have a word?" The two nodded and followed him.

"Above every muggleborn's bed were some floating letter, and beneath the bed was a Bombarda Charm. One pressure had been applied to the bed, the charm would explode, causing the recipient unimaginable injuries. The common room's have been completely rectified now. However, I would like you to keep an eye out for any suspicious behaviour."

"Yes Sir." Remus said, and the two made their way back up to Gryffindor tower.


	7. The Astronomy Tower

I will be giving you all just who I picture as the marauder characters etc at the end of this chapter so that everyone has a clear vision of who I'm writing about!

Don't forget to review to tell me what you guys think!

* * *

Sirius found himself in a routine. He would spend his days going through the motions. Keeping a close eye on Peter, on Snape and on Bellatrix. He tried to manoeuvre James and Lily towards each other, but that also ended up futile. James and Emmeline had started spending a lot more time together now, something Sirius had never thought he'd see. Since the attack, Sirius had noticed that Lily spent a lot of her time up in her dormitory, and when she was out and about, she had become increasingly quiet. Remus and Mary kept to themselves, also officially coupling off. Sirius also found himself in a particular broom closet most nights with a particular Gryffindor sixth year. Marlene McKinnon. What had started out as a one time thing had become a regular arrangement for the two of them. They both used each other to work our pent up frustration. They didn't ask questions, simply felt when they needed to. Sirius couldn't wrap his head around why he needed Marlene as much as he did. He had vowed to not enter any sort of relationship, but the longer he spent there, the more and more he succumbed to the fact that he actually _was_ a teenager now. He felt things the way a teenager would, and he needed things the way a teenager would. He could forget, even if just for half hour while he was with Marlene, and that helped. It was however, coming up to Christmas, and he didn't actually know what his plans were. He couldn't remember what he'd originally planned in the original timeline, and felt too stupid to ask anyone, so just hoped for someone to reveal it to him eventually.

Peter found himself loosing time. Now that Remus had Mary, James had Emmeline and Sirius had... well, who knows who Sirius had that particular week. But now that his friends were all preoccupied Peter often found himself alone, and had rather enjoyed strolling about the castle to pass the boredom, exploring corridors he'd never walked and discovering rooms he'd never seen before. He blamed his loss of time on that. He would be wondering the corridors and all of sudden wake up in another place, having no idea how he'd got there. He could only attribute this to him being careless, thoughtless. Especially as the corridors within the castle all looked very similar, who actually knew where he'd walked that night. He certainly didn't.

Remus found himself worried. He liked Mary. He was angry for letting himself get so close to Mary considering his condition. He worried that once she found out she wouldn't want to be with him. He worried that once she found it she wouldn't care which was even worse because then he could hurt her. He was worried that if she did find out, that others would find out too. He was worried that he liked her a lot more than he intended to, and he was worried that he liked that she liked him too, no matter how problematic that was for his condition. His condition that was due November 18th, in just a week. He hadn't even planned out the night yet due to how distracted he had become.

James found himself confused. He had never considered himself to be the type to date anyone other than Lily Evans, yet low and behold. Admittedly, he'd only been seeing Emmeline for close to a week, but it was fun and easy. His usual conquests were one night stands, he couldn't remember the last time he willingly spent time with the same girl more than once. Emmeline adored him. She made that very obvious. She would wait outside his classes for him, she would stare at him when she thought nobody would notice and she would reach for his hand and squeeze tight. She was a breath of fresh air and a non-complicated person. He felt guilty almost, for not feeling as in to it as she was so early on. He couldn't help but let his mind wander to Lily. Lily who was the human embodiment for complicated. Lily who he had been in love with for years. Lily, who he couldn't even face for longer than two minutes without the frustration becoming too much for him. He found his mind wandering to the night on the balcony, where everything had felt perfect and real and he longed for that feeling again. But he let himself forget and focused on Emmeline, he deserved more than what Lily Evans had been giving.

* * *

The deadline for Transfiguration was looming, and the longer and longer she left it, the more and more she knew it was going to bite her in the ass. So she psyched herself up and marched straight up to James who had Emmeline in his lap. He was whispering things into her ear as Lily approached them. She cleared her throat, piles or parchment in one hand a book on transfiguration in the other.

"Potter." She said. He looked up at her, almost amused by her interruption.

"What can I do for you Evans?"

"Can you _please_ help with our Transfiguration project? You are so good at helping Emmeline with hers I figure you must be able to contribute to your own project as well." she snapped. He laughed.

"Someone isn't jealous are they?" She rolled her eyes and visibly sighed. He laughed again. "Alright alright, Emmeline I'll meet you later yeah?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek before sitting with Lily in front of the fire. The tension between the pair was tangible, both having avoided each other ever since Sirius' birthday. This was the first time the two had been alone together since, and Lily hadn't quite realised just how awkward things had gotten between them. They both pretended to ignore the everlasting tension, focusing on the project. They got about an hour in before they cracked.

"Is something wrong?" James asked quietly. Lily's stomach dropped.

"What? No, everything's fine."

"You've kept up in your room all week, I thought something must be up." He looked up at her to inspect her. Her skin was visibly paler than usual, and her hair which was usually silky and soft had been shoved up into a bun. She had bags under her emerald green eyes, and James suspected that was from lack of sleep.

"I've just got a lot going on." He sighed.

"Look, let's take a break. You seem like you need one. I'll finish this off later." He took her hand and guided her out of the common room. They walked silently for a while before Lily spoke up.

"So Emmeline, how's that going?" He laughed.

"Ooh the small talk, I do love that. She's lovely." He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Small talk better than no talk right?" She replied quietly.

"What's going on with you?" He asked, keeping his head straight forward, not daring to look at her.

"I guess I'm just a bit shaken after the attack the other week." She muttered quietly. He frowned. What she didn't say was that she was finding it hard to be around him. She found being around James Potter harder than she'd care to admit. She found it hard being around Alice and Frank, or Remus and Mary. Marlene, Sirius and Peter all seemed preoccupied as well. So what better place to hide than her dormitory.

"Do you have any idea who did that?" James asked. He knew the answer of course.

"Not a clue. Where is it we're going anyway?"

"A secret place." He smirked, leading her up the stairs.

"Well that isn't ominous at all. " She couldn't help but wonder if James had taken Emmeline wherever they were going. "If it's so secret, then why are you showing it to me? We're not exactly best friends are we."

"You underestimate us Evans. If given the chance, I think we'd get on better than I've gotten on with anyone. Now close your eyes. We're here." She did as was instructed and was guided through some doors. "Open your eyes." He whispered. She was in the astronomy tower.

"How did we get here?" She asked shocked.

"Secret passage." She looked around, never having seen the night sky this way before. The stars were bright, the sky clear. The moon was nearly full, shining magnificently against the dark, almost black sky. "I come here when I need to think." He smirked. "It really helps clear my head, I thought it could do the same for you. And you have me, if you wanted to talk about any of it."

"I guess I'm just finding Hogwarts difficult at the moment. My home life isn't great Potter believe it or not, and I've always considered Hogwarts my home. It doesn't feel like home anymore. I feel like I don't deserve to be here. I feel eyes on me everywhere I go. I feel the way people stare at me. All the Slytherins who think I don't belong here. And I know that this is superficial, but since everything that happened with Edgar, I can't help but wonder what everyone else thinks of me as well." James frowned.

"I don't know about anyone else in this school, but I don't think of you as the 'frigid' or the 'know-it-all' and certainly not as a... a you know what."

"In all honesty, it's easier to stay in my room. Then I don't have to worry about how what I'm doing may affect other peoples perceptions of me."

"You can't hide up here forever you know. And for the record, I wouldn't say you're frigid." He smirked. She blushed.

"Only when you get alcohol in me Potter." She laughed.

"Well, if that's the secret I'll have to invest in getting some more next Hogsmede visit." He paused. "Not that... that's not what I-" He stuttered over his words.

"Don't worry Potter, we all know if it were up to you that game of spin the bottle would be a regular thing." James was taken aback. Not once did he ever think Lily Evans would be laughing and making a joke out of his affections for her. She was the type to get annoyed whenever he mentioned it.

"Why the sudden change in tolerance for me then, aye Evans?"

"I've had a lot of time to reflect, being on my own. You were one of the people I've been hiding from. I figured if what you thought of me mattered so much to me, that it must be because your opinion is worth caring about. Once I figured that out, I've found it a lot easier to be around you without wanting to kill you." James couldn't tell whether he was just shocked or happy or both at the same time. Lily Evans had been hiding from him?

"Why would you hide from me?" She had opened up a hell of a lot more than he had expected her to. She had shown him her heart in a way he thought he'd never see.

"Well, I did more than just embarrass myself at Sirius' birthday last week."

"I wouldn't say you embarrassed yourself you know."

"I nearly bit your face off." She started laughing uncontrollably. He joined in with her, and it felt nice.

"It wasn't just a one way kiss you know, I went at it too."

"I was a hell of a lot worse. Probably didn't even do it right." She started to calm down a bit. He looked confused. "I've only ever kissed three people you know. A boy from back home at a party once, Edgar and you. All three have been when I was intoxicated. It's not looking good for little miss perfect is it." She laughed again. He couldn't understand how that had happened. How someone as pure and beautiful as Lily Evans had never even had a proper meaningful kiss. Before he could second guess himself, he put his finger underneath her chin, lifting her face to meet his. He looked down at her, before slowly leaning in. He pressed his lips to hers softly, before deepening the kiss, placing his hands either side of her face. It felt... amazing. Amazing and different and special and meaningful. He was surprised when he felt her reciprocate the kiss, melting into him. The kiss lasted longer than he'd expected as well, starting off slow and soft, before building. The longer they kissed, the more they needed to feel each other. Lily shifted her weight, to which James obliged, taking her legs so that she was sat in his lap with her legs around his waist. She felt every inch of his chest, her hands wandering along his collarbones, down chest muscles and along his back. Where her hands touched left tingles, running down James' spine. She felt the waistband of his jeans, and the growth between his legs as it pressed into her. She quickly jumped up.

"Whoa, what are we doing?!" She said, suddenly on her feet. Her eyes wide with panic. James sat on the floor, staring up at her. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what he could say. What she would want him to say. "I mean... you have a girlfriend and I'm well... I'm me. We don't even get along, and I've never even properly kissed someone before, and _you've_ kissed loads of girls so it must not have been very good... and well.. poor Emmeline oh my god what is she going to think and-"

"Lily! Calm down!" James interupted, getting to his feet, trying to ignore the sudden tightness in his trousers.

"Why did you do that!" She shouted back.

"Why did _I_ do that? It takes two people to kiss Lily!" He shouted back.

"Why did you-"

"I did it because you needed it!" She stared back at him, hurt.

"I'm not some charity case Potter!" It stung, she'd gone back to using his surname.

"And _when_ did I say you were Evans? I couldn't comprehend the fact that you hadn't experienced something, and wanted to give that to you!"

"Again, stop making me out to be some underprivileged child."

"It was as much for me as it was for you okay?!" She froze.

"What?" He took a step towards her.

"I've been wanting to do that for two years now, Evans. When you kissed me last week, I'd never been happier and it killed me to see you as upset as you were. And _she's not my girlfriend._ " He muttered under his breath.

"Oh so that makes it okay does it?!"

"Did you, or did you not enjoy?" He said simply.

"I did." She whispered. "That doesn't make it okay." and with that, Lily rushed out of the astronomy tower.

* * *

My face character inspirations: (I apologise if they are really generic.)

James Potter: Aaron Taylor Johnson

Sirius Black: Jamie Blackley (when his hair was longer of course)

Remus Lupin: Andrew Garfield

Peter Pettigrew: Jamie Bell

Lily Evans: Sophie Turner

Severus Snape: Louis Garrel

Marlene McKinnon: Freya Mavor (I know I've written her with dark hair and a fringe, she will be growing it our and dying it between sixth and seventh year!)

Alice Prewett: Carey Mulligan

Gideon and Fabian Prewett: Eddie Redmayne

Frank Longbottom: Jim Sturgess

Bellatrix Black: Kat Dennings

Narcissa Black: Dianna Agron

Mary Macdonald: Phoebe Tonkin

Dorcas Meadows: Antonia Thomas

Emmeline Vance: Jenna Louise-Coleman

If you have any other character face requests just ask in a review and I'll leave them at the bottom of my next chapter!


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